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SET Vietnam / Lasting Education Ha Tinh

 
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nomadic_meow



Joined: 07 Apr 2013
Posts: 59
Location: Vietnam

PostPosted: Tue Nov 21, 2017 1:15 am    Post subject: SET Vietnam / Lasting Education Ha Tinh Reply with quote

Has anyone worked with this dispatch organization? I'm looking for reviews but for obvious frequency reasons, it's difficult to track down. Stands for Supply English Teacher, ha.
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nomadic_meow



Joined: 07 Apr 2013
Posts: 59
Location: Vietnam

PostPosted: Wed Dec 13, 2017 4:40 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Invitation also lists company as Hong Bang? My first job in Vietnam, so no claims about how "normal" this is. Just saying it is.

The recruiters have cute people in Hanoi, who seem well intentioned, but communicating n English is pretty trying. It's often hard to guess the actual outcomes. Even in the contract, some portions appear written twice with different meanings.

They push for terms up until the very last minute, adding things to the text which are not disclosed until they hand you the paper and say this is the "only way". Upping the hours from those discussed in the interview.

Arrived on the job and found their "assistant" takes it upon herself to make speeches to the students while I'm unpacking and writing agenda on the board (also company mandated, not long but expected). No idea what she says to them. Then it transpires that the company may be attempting to charge teachers for every minute that the assistant chooses to do this.

It also appears that the assistant was provided "free" for a month, but the setting makes her so necessary for logistics and communication that the company might presume teachers will pay her salary (or some portion) for the duration of their stay. That is barely spoken of in recruiting.

There is confusion between Hanoi reps, contract, and the highbrow academic manager regarding whether salary is normally fixed, or always pro-rated by hours taught. Copy of the contract still not given a week into the job.

The immediate director is charming and seems to want his teachers to be happy. But then it's a dull setting to place people in and this sort of management to deal with repeatedly.
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nomadic_meow



Joined: 07 Apr 2013
Posts: 59
Location: Vietnam

PostPosted: Wed Dec 13, 2017 5:49 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Now the more verbose manager says that the contract which SET had me sign in Hanoi is only regarded as a draft by Lasting and they will have some "other" contract they expect me to sign as the official one at some later date.

He refuses to recognize any of the terms I came down here under, basically. Yet he wants me to accept that he is going to keep pulling out unshared 'policy' excuses to deduct things from my salary.

This also appears to admit that they are employing foreigners dispatched to a local public school with no current contract, and they do not see contracts demanded in recruiting for them as pertinent.

On the other hand, the director did give me an "advance" (for far less than hours already worked) and the students are generally nice. Are there really any rules in this country, anyway? I can't tell from the company at this rate.
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kingplaya4



Joined: 09 Dec 2017
Posts: 11
Location: Nha Be

PostPosted: Thu Dec 14, 2017 3:04 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

This has not been by experience with the supply company I signed with, everything has been pretty normal so far, but I both signed and work in Ho Chi Minh, it sounds like you signed in Hanoi, then went somewhere else? You do have to be somewhat flexible in Asia, particularly when moving to a different branch or area. If you can deal with the changes see if its worth sticking out.
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rogerwilco



Joined: 10 Jun 2010
Posts: 1549

PostPosted: Thu Dec 14, 2017 4:30 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

nomadic_meow wrote:


He refuses to recognize any of the terms I came down here under, basically. Yet he wants me to accept that he is going to keep pulling out unshared 'policy' excuses to deduct things from my salary.




That was my experience in China. The contract is only followed when it benefits them, and it is ignored if it ever benefits you.

Your employer will probably continue to change the terms of the contract until you finally push back. They will not respect you until you set a limit and stick to it.

After 10 years of teaching in Asia I think your situation is very common, but that you need to start looking for another job because their abuse of you will probably never end.
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nomadic_meow



Joined: 07 Apr 2013
Posts: 59
Location: Vietnam

PostPosted: Wed Feb 21, 2018 5:05 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks for the replies. I stuck it out for a couple months, until the company pulled the Viet assistant from the classroom and student behavioral issues became too much for any of us to be happy.

To Lasting's credit, they did pay me for all of my hours before departure. The local director is pretty charming when he is around, and the academic manager seemed to fade away once he was refused a couple times. I also had to dramatically protest some snap, punishing schedule decisions by the local school but those were then reduced.

On the other hand, my replacement said that their job was described as teaching elementary, but to the best of my knowledge they actually got my middle schoolers...

Summary PROS
* Low traffic, little apparent air pollution (Hong Linh), company motorbike
* Paid on time and in my case, before early departure
* Hands-off except for the nasty remote manager emails
* Personable director, assistant could be good
* At least a few classes behaved reasonably

CONS
* Very few eats near housing (Hong Linh)
* Very cold, windy, and rainy in winter - no heating
* No classroom assistant after the first month - horrible behavior by many groups
(constant talking, singing, fighting, grabbing you, "hey punish him!" every second, throwing things, crawling, roaming, leaving)
* Many classes showed up late or not at all (school grumbled about paying some)
* Cold and haughty remote manager
* Little substance to the textbooks
* Bring your own tech (after month 1) or no AV at all
* Written contract may not be the interview terms, envelope may keep getting nudged
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